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Olive growers and producers in the southern Italian region of Campania have teamed up with local authorities to promote extra virgin olive oil and foster an environmentally-friendly approach to used cooking oil disposal.
In a series of events announced by the municipality of Sorrento with the local waste management company, residents are invited to bring their used cooking oil to special areas for proper disposal. The more they bring, the more extra virgin olive oil the municipality will reward them in exchange.
When used vegetable oil ends up in our seas, its pollution kills marine vegetation.- Francesco Mancini, president, CONOE
The Sorrento peninsula, which faces the Bay of Naples and Capri island, is the home of some of the region’s most celebrated extra virgin olive oils. It is also an incredibly scenic part of the southwestern Italian coastline, attracting tourists from all over the world.
Local authorities explained that proper cooking oil disposal helps maintain the region’s beauty and biodiversity.
See Also:Researchers Develop Compostable Plastic Packaging From Olive Waste“Those residents that will give over 10 liters of exhausted cooking oil will receive a bottle of extra virgin olive oil,” Luigi Di Prisco, head of the municipal Council, told the local newspaper Il Mattino.
He added that all participants would also receive a container to store used cooking oil at home before disposing of it.
“This is one more way to promote respect for the environment, by rewarding virtuous behavior,” Di Prisco said.
The Amalfi municipality announced a similar initiative. Located on the southern shores of the Sorrento peninsula, it is the heart of the Amalfi coast, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
“We are working to preserve our landscape, artistic and cultural heritage and to foster sustainability which is a key factor of protection and promotion,” said councilwoman Ilara Cuomo. “All citizens must enact virtuous reuse, waste reduction and recycle… triggering a circular economy that counteracts the single-use throwaway culture.”
While not always linked to the distribution of extra virgin olive oil, campaigns focused on recycling exhausted cooking oils have been on the rise throughout Italy.
The random dispersion of used vegetable oils is considered a significant environmental pollutant and was the focus of a recent national conference.
“When used vegetable oil ends up in our seas, its pollution kills marine vegetation,” said Francesco Mancini, president of the national consortium for the recycling of vegetable and animal oils (CONOE). “This happens because it creates a sort of filter on the water surface which prevents solar rays from reaching the sea floor.”
CONOE data show that its recycling figures rose from 15,000 tons in 2002 to 76,000 in 2018. Italy produces about 260,000 tons of cooking oil each year.
A growing number of companies in the production chain are joining the consortium, which represents more than 300,000 members who use cooking oil, such as restaurants.
Over time, Italians have been finding new and creative ways to utilize used cooking oil. One of these is as fuels for vaporettos, traditional water buses that carry around tourists and residents in Venice. Since the trial period in 2018, vaporettos increasingly run on cooking oil-derived biofuels.
Treated cooking oil is also being incorporated into cosmetics, industrial soaps, inks, tanning greases and car waxes. CONOE estimates that almost 90 percent of recycled cooking oil is used as fuel in the country.
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